


The Nutcracker

by sweeetbabe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, F/M, Fluff, Ginny is a Ballet Dancer, Harry is a Good Dad, Hinny, Jily lives, Muggle AU, Single Father
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 14:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30039759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweeetbabe/pseuds/sweeetbabe
Summary: All Harry wanted to do was take his daughter to watch The Nutcracker, but he didn't expect one of the dancers to mess with him so much.orHarry is a single father and Luna wants to meet the ballerina Ginny Weasley
Relationships: Harry Potter / Ginny Weasley, James Potter / Lily Evans
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	The Nutcracker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Startanewdream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Startanewdream/gifts).



> this is the biggest one shot i have ever written, and the one i most enjoyed writing.  
> Thanks to @startanewdream who insisted that I write this story, I didn't expect to like Little Luna so much  
> Maybe I'll do one more part, but for now, I wanted to end this way - because it was getting too big and I wanted to post soon lol  
> and thanks to Hinny Discord, who helped me with many things in this story, giving me tips, talking about parenting with me ... thanks <3
> 
> enjoy!

**ACT I**

In all the years that have passed, of all the crazy things that happened in his life, of all the things that he thought he never imagined living - or surviving - Harry never imagined that.

Luna almost jumped next to him, barely reluctant to get in the car and put on her seat belt, wearing that pink dress that Lily had sewn specially for her, looking anxiously out the window.

'I'm so excited!' She said, the biggest smile he has seen over the past few weeks - if not months - the little hands gloved by the white velvet gesturing at him. 'She is the best! The best in the world. ’

'I can tell.' Harry sighed, thinking that the ballet could be nothing but extraordinary, thinking about how expensive the tickets had been. 'Remember what we agreed on?' He looked in the rearview mirror, his daughter nodding quickly, the smile almost tearing her cheeks.

‘Do not speak loudly during the presentation.’ She said.

'And you can't get out of the chair, only if you need to go to the restroom.' Luna nodded.

'Okay, okay.' She gently ran her hands through the braid he had made, after so many classes in a hairdressing course. The red curls were firmly attached, as she had requested, tied with a red bow that made her look like a Christmas present. ‘Are we going to meet Ginny?’

‘Daddy will try,’ He wanted to promise, but since he bought the ticket, he had been informed that she had several commitments, and with that, she was sometimes unable to pay attention to all the fans. But Harry would do what was necessary for Luna to at least hug the woman.

Luna was the most adorable and lovable little girl that Harry knew, and he doesn't say that just because she was his daughter, but because was why she had managed to convince the man to give up going to watch the hockey game with Neville and all the guys, to take her to the great spectacle that seemed to have made London whole ecstatic - even if it was an old story.

_ After almost 10 years away, ballerina Ginny Weasley would perform in her hometown, in the biggest theater in all of England, with the Nutcracker. _ It seemed that she was important, thinking about how all the children were excited when Luna told that her father would take her to watch.

Harry knew that he would do everything in his power to make Luna smile, and since her mother had decided to leave without giving any information on where she was going or when she would be back - She and Harry had not been a couple for a long time, but they did not know how to explain the seven-year-old daughter that. 

Susan then thought that the best way was to simply disappear, and he was even more committed to proving to her, and he, that they could be very happy without Susan around. Not that he stopped loving her, but it was no longer a romantic love, just a bond they had because they were the girl's parents, and he still revealed the many times he saw her or knew she was cheating on him.

Seeing the sad little girl, not wanting to play with the dolls she liked so much or even going to school, killed him little by little, and it didn't take much to get him to buy those tickets for the ballet. It was enough to see her smiling when she told him about, that Harry called to tell Neville that the plans were broken and that that Saturday he was going to watch The Nutcracker, with his daughter wearing one of the ballerina dresses, with those full skirts and full of tulle and bows in her hair, which Lily had made and bought with such affection.

It was as if they had all silently decided that they would do anything to see Luna running happily again.

'Papa told me that next time he and Nana will bring me. There will be a Christmas show, telling the story of Santa Claus!’ She clapped her hands, anxiously moving her legs, the lights of the Christmas-decorated city, illuminating her through the window.

'I'm sure they are more than excited to go with you.' Harry laughed softly, thinking of his father carrying Luna full of ribbons, glitter, and tulle, around town, watching Christmas shows and taking a million more pictures to put on the album. Probably his mother would make an even more flashy dress for her and an even bigger bow for tying her hair.  _ It is a moment of leisure _ , she always said,  _ sewing for Luna is so fun, she likes everything. _

'Daddy, did you know…' Then the girl started talking nonstop, telling the whole Nutcracker story, then talking about how the ballet teacher had taught them some dance steps, how a friend of hers had learned to do some movement that Harry wouldn't remember the name in a minute ...

But he didn't complain about when she started talking non-stop, not after seeing her go silent for a week, saying just the basics - Dean was a therapist and said that she was just thinking about what had happened, how that she slept with her mother in her house and woke up the other day and she was no longer there - and that Harry needed to let her live this little "mourning". He talked to her, even though Luna didn't respond well, explained everything, and always stressed that she would never be alone. She had him, Popo, Nana, Uncle Neville, Dean, Sirius, Remus, Hestia ... she would never be alone. But even so, it was a week full of sleepless nights, with her having a fever, having nightmares, and being less Luna than she had ever been.

The pediatrician also spoke to her, but as Dean had already said, there was no magic formula, just the patience to let her handle it.

When she finally agreed to sleep at her grandparents' house - without crying at dawn asking for her father - it was that Harry found the courage to go out with his friends again. The hockey game would also be a small encounter, of which he was not entirely satisfied but did not want to hurt the girl, but nothing was more important than the redhead's smile in the back seat.

His father even tried to convince Harry to let them take her, there was nothing that Lily and James would not do to their granddaughter, but as much as it wasn't the best outing for a late Saturday afternoon, he wasn't going to complain.

Between Luna and the blonde he never remembered her name, who only knew how to talk about herself and her ex, Harry stayed with his daughter and the ballet show.

'I have never been here.' Her green eyes, like his and Lily's, sparkled when she admired the Theater, all decorated for Christmas, looking absurdly more beautiful than usual.

'You have been, but you were too young to remember.' He smiled, getting out of the car and opening the door to help the girl out of the child seat. Harry needed to be very careful not to wrinkle her skirt or ruin her hair, the girl might be small and look lovable, but she reminded her grandmother a lot when she was angry.

'It looks like a castle.' Harry smiled at the driver who took the car key, walking behind another couple with a boy, into the theater.

He had been to the Royal Opera House before, sometimes with his parents as a child and older, and other times with Susan. It was one of the most beautiful places that Harry had ever entered, it felt like another world inside, so elegant it was as if they were going to pay even to breathe the same air as other people.

Luna didn't seem to be less impressed, looking up and everywhere, huge green eyes shining as she admired the place, holding hands with Harry who was leading her.

‘I got great seats, we won’t even need binoculars,’ He smiled, seeing her smile too, one of her missing front teeth. 'But we still have them, if you want to use..’

'No, they don't match my dress,' she said simply, running her free hand over the pink fabric, wrinkling whatever was wrinkled.

The two sat down, not too close to the stage, but not too far so that Luna could easily see the stage in front of her. There weren't many adults alone, in fact, Harry didn't remember seeing as many children there as he does now, all of them looking almost as anxious, some wearing ballet clothes, others just in an elegant, classic outfit that didn't look comfortable at all.

‘If you need anything, call Daddy, okay?’ The girl nodded, her eyes on the stage hidden by the red curtain.

When the ballet started, Harry sighed and leaned against the cushioned chair, thinking it would be long minutes.

  
  


* * *

It was like time didn't pass, and it wasn't because the dancers were bad, far from it, but the Nutcracker was no longer an attraction for a guy in his late 26s, and all the parents looked equally bored, unlike the kids who kept their eyes on the presentation.

It wasn't until the second act, half an hour after the start, that Harry started paying attention.

He had already seen some pictures of Ginny Weasley, Luna was a big fan of the woman, had even asked to start dancing ballet because of her, but Harry had never paid real attention to her. And when his daughter nudged him to tell him that Ginny was going to come in, he found himself very interested in the play.

She wore an all-white outfit, a round skirt that was much more structured than Luna's - a tutu, his daughter always reminded him of - her auburn hair tied in a classic bun, wearing a crown that barely moved on her head. He couldn't accurately analyze her face, but he bet his life that the woman was as beautiful as seen from afar... There was no doubt since it wasn't just him who seemed to have woken up now that she was on the stage.

Her hair was not as copper as his mother's and daughter's, it was a bright red and orange that shone in the light that illuminated her, making it look like a living fire was burning in her head, as well as the freckles he could perceive, even from a distance he could see that there were freckles that were lost on her body, depending on where she was, Harry noticed that it was lost inside the neckline of her swimsuit, but they also strolled by the arms, and he bet, that by her face.

It was magnificent to see her dance, impressive, being swirled and lifted by a man also wearing white, as if she weighed nothing, walking in those pointe shoes with the greatest naturalness in the world, lavishing smiles on everyone.

After that, Harry stayed much more awake, following wherever the woman went, feeling even a little stupid, but not thinking much about it. Every time she left the scene, he took the opportunity to rest, drink some water and ask if Luna wanted anything, when Ginny came back into the spotlight, it was as if he no longer cared to be seeing that old and boring story.

The minutes seemed to run, the dancers stood side by side, and thanked them, while the entire audience stood up and applauded sickly.

'Are we going to be able to see her?!' Luna jumped up excitedly in place, with her gloved hands together, as if she asked  _ ‘pretty pleaseeee.’ _

'We will try, but in case it doesn't work, we will try another day, okay?' She didn't seem satisfied, but between that and nothing, Harry imagined that Luna was satisfied with the negotiation.

The line of people was relatively large, waiting on the side of the stage with children and teenagers looking anxious to get an autograph and a photo with the woman. There was growing concern in Harry when he noticed that they were the last in line, not only because of the anxiety Luna was building up to meet Ginny, but also because maybe she only had a few minutes to spare and there was no guarantee that she couldn't just say that it was over and gone.

He didn't know how he was going to deal with it.

The children went up to the stage where the woman was standing, asked her to sign whatever they had in hand, and took a picture. Luna beside him, ran her hand through her dress as if all of a sudden the fabric was wrinkled and spoiled, in an almost funny concern, if he wasn't the same.

The ticking of the clock on Harry's wrist made him realize that more and more they were approaching nine, and there were still many people ahead of them. One boy, in particular, looked as nervous as Luna, wearing a ballet outfit and holding Ginny's picture tightly.

'She is leaving without me being able to talk to her, is she?' Luna asked, pulling on Harry’s blazer to get his attention, her green eyes huge and shining as if she could cry at any moment.

‘I don’t know my love, we hope not.’ He tried to smile as best he could, but honestly, he felt anxious that it could be a trigger for Luna to return to the previous stage, in silence and sadness.

When half an hour passed, the two were almost taking their turn, Luna had asked Harry to fix the hair tie - which was already perfect - more than three times, just as she didn't seem to be able to stay still, anxious as she was. There were two people left to be their turn, and he just prayed that time would come.

'I didn't bring anything for her to sign.' She called him again. 'We should have brought the paper-’

‘-Daddy brought a paper,’ Harry took out the small internal pocketbook he carried with him, always keeping everything that involved Luna there; schedules, visits to the doctor.. 'Don't worry, she'll sign for you.' He handed her the notebook with several kittens drawn on the cover. The little girl herself had chosen.

After what seemed like an eternity, the tall, burly security guard called out to them, and Harry helped his daughter up the stage stairs, almost letting out the sigh of relief when he saw the smile return to her face.

'Hello dear,' Ginny greeted her, and as if asking for permission, Luna looked up, hoping that her father would let her go to the woman sitting on the floor of the stage, to be at the same height as the children.

'Go. I'll be right here.' Luna ran to her, her hair shining even more because of the spotlight, as well as the glittery pink dress.

'Are you all right?' The woman was even more beautiful up close, Harry realized, the flaming hair contrasting with the skin so light. 'Awn, you don't have to cry dear, come and give me a hug.' Luna had her eyes shining with tears, almost making Harry cry too - he was an emotional father - but hugged the woman without hesitating for a minute, now and then looking at the side and checking if he was still there. 'Your dress is very beautiful.'

'It was my nana who made it.' She spun, making the fabric spin together. ‘Did you know that my popo made a dollhouse for me, and there’s a ballerina who keeps spinning and spinning, and I gave her a name just like yours?’

'For real? It must be the most beautiful thing.' Ginny smiled, which Harry thought was a low blow, as it made her eyes crinkle in the corners and slightly smaller, her pink and freckled cheeks gaining all the glory. 'But tell me, do you dance ballet? I saw that you are wearing 

ballet shoes.’

'Yea! I still don’t know how to dance like you, but I’m trying. ’ Luna smiled even more. ‘My dad, says that one day I’ll be as good as you are, but I find it difficult.’

'Does he say?' For the first time, Ginny noticed him, measuring him from top to bottom as if she were evaluating him. She didn't look angry, just... curious. 'And what is your name? You haven't told me yet. ’

‘Luna. Luna Potter. ’

'Oh, I have a friend named Luna.' The girl's eyes widened.

'You have? This is cool! I never met any other girl named Luna. ’

'Sweetheart, take the picture and let's go, we don't want to disturb Miss Weasley's night.' Harry called to her, trying hard not to look at the neckline of that outfit, thinking how soft and shiny Ginny’s skin was.

'It's okay, you are the last, we still have a few minutes.' She smiled at him, then turned to Luna, which Harry thanked, since he blushed like an idiot.

  
  


**ACT II**

Harry didn't expect to find Ginny again.

It had been a week since the show, Luna was talking about nothing but that night, and she hadn't even complained or protested about having to stay with her grandparents, going back to wearing the dress and taking the dollhouse she and James had been building for a few weeks.

_ 'I promise she'll be fine,' Lily said, leading Harry to the door, even though he always looked over his shoulder to face Luna, sitting on the living room floor with all the dolls around, telling popo how she wanted to decorate the mini bathroom. James had even made a special wallpaper for them to stick in the master bedroom. ‘You need to take advantage, who knows how to find a woman…’ _

_ 'Mom.' _

_ 'What?' Harry stared at her, shorter than he was, her hair in a loose bun and her green eyes winking maliciously. ‘I’m being honest. I haven’t seen you happy for a long time.’ _

_ 'It hasn't even been a year since Susan left,' he whispered, making sure Luna didn't listen. The girl remained entertained with James, Daisy, the cat, sitting on her lap, receiving the affection that the girl provided. _

_ ‘But it has been more than a year since you two stopped being something to become like only acquaintances who have a daughter together.’ Lily reminded him, the eyebrow-raising. ‘Now go, we’ll call you if we need you.’ _

It had been a few hours since he had been at the bar with his friends, maybe two, and since he arrived he had been willing to ignore any woman Dean or Seamus tried to get him, but Harry didn't think she would be there.

He also didn't imagine that she could look so beautiful wearing jeans and a black lace top, which made her breasts even more in focus, her freckles spread all over her fair skin, and her red hair falling freely down her back, swinging from side to side.

Harry also didn't expect her to come to his side when he went to order another round of beer.

‘Off from Daddy’s work?’ She asked, close enough, since the counter was always crowded. Her skin seemed to set him on fire.

'Everyone deserves a break.' He smiled, trying not to be too excited that she remembered him. 'You?'

'Also. But my break lasts for 3 months... yours lasts that long?’ Ginny asked.

'No, not more than 10 hours.' They finally looked at each other. Ginny's eyes were painted with a brown eyeshadow and glitter that made her look even more beautiful, her long lashes were now painted black, and her mouth red, tantalizingly beautiful.

'It is a pity. But a lot can happen in 10 hours, right?' She blinked, the brown irises reminded him a lot of the syrup he used to spill over the pancakes, the pupils dilating as she stared at him like chocolate chips.

'It depends on who I'm with. Alone? It will be a long ten hours.’ It had been a while - 7 years - since Harry had flirted with anyone. Even after he and Susan agreed to just share the apartment for Luna's benefit, he didn't have much desire or courage to go out at night and look for suitors.

He was always too tired, trying to reconcile the life of a lawyer, with that of a father and that of a son, and when there was time left, that of having friends and real social life. He couldn't take the strength to go to the bar and flirt, he wanted to go to the bar just to drink in peace and think about how the woman with whom he had a daughter, and with whom he thought he would live a happy life, had betrayed him

But today it looked like something, in particular, was burning inside him, like seeing Ginny Weasley there, wearing that tantalizingly low-cut top, and the pants that squeezed her ass in an almost diabolical way had triggered the urge to flirt.

'And how will it be? Will you be alone?' She leaned against the counter, facing him, definitely not looking as innocent as she did dress in ballet clothes.

'For now,' Harry shrugged. 'Maybe I can convince some famous ballet dancer to keep me company on that lonely Saturday night.' Ginny laughed, her cheeks going pink for a moment.

'There is a table with several options.' She pointed behind her, showing the table she was sitting on, 8 women widened their eyes when they realized that Harry was looking and diverted their attention. 'You can try your luck.'

‘Which one do you think I’ll be luckier with?’

'Hm, I don't know, I heard that the redhead was staring at you.' It was her, Harry had stared at their table long enough to know that Ginny was the only redhead there.

'I will do my best.' He ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a few seconds, before opening them and reaching for her. 'Harry Potter.' He wished he had paid less attention to the fact that the woman licked her lips as if she contained a treacherous smile, something that made Harry pathetically seduced.

'Ginny Weasley' She squeezed his hand, her thin, delicate fingers seeming to disappear in comparison to his hand. ‘So, Harry Potter,’ His stomach dropped with the way she said his name. 'Tell me more about yourself, in addition to the fact that you have a lovely daughter.'

‘I am single,’ It was important to make it very clear ‘I am a lawyer, and-’

'No, talk about interesting things. We are not in a job interview, stop talking about academic records.’ Her brown eyes still stared at him in a way that made him feel even a little claustrophobic and at the same time, warm. Harry knew he was playing with fire, but he wasn't complaining.

* * *

Harry didn't remember much about how they got to his house, it started with them getting their friends and drinking together, talking and flirting, evolved when Ginny smiled at him in that way that made his stomach turn and his skin warm-up and ended up with the two of them in a taxi, kissing, on the way home.

It was absurd how intoxicated she made him, the delicate, soft hands that played with his hair, going down the back of his neck until she reached the middle of his back, pulling him even closer as if she said he couldn't get out of there. It was as if they fit perfectly, her small body making him feel like a teenager going to have sex for the first time.

His body seemed much more sensitive than ever, the organs turning and moving whenever she touched him in a new way, or when she let the kiss become hotter and more euphoric than before. It was she who seemed to run things, and Harry wasn't complaining at all, following the dance that Ginny seemed to know so well.

Harry also couldn't contain his hands, as if he wanted to reach as much of her body as he could, passing through the tight jeans, that skin streak was showing up between the waistband of her pants and the blacktop, and then going up the back, feeling the warmth of it and the roughness of the lace.

There were not enough butterflies or cliché descriptions to explain what he felt.

Somehow they got to the room, even after tripping over the living room rug, and the dining table. Not that it prevented them from continuing to kiss, Harry was sure that Ginny didn't seem determined at all and let him get away.

Fortunately, Harry didn't want that either.

  
  


**ACT III**

The more Christmas approached, the more anxious Harry became, thinking about how Luna would react to that date without her mother, as they would if she asked about Susan - Harry hadn't been able to talk to her since the day she left - or if she would just close as it did in the past months.

Dean had appointed Luna to a child psychologist, and Doctor Cho had been a great help to the girl, in addition to alleviating some of Harry's anxiety about this topic. But even so, he still felt distressed by the proximity of the date.

'We should travel,' Lily said, sitting on the armchair in the living room, a cup of steaming tea in her hand. 'We should get Luna out of this environment that reminds her of this... woman.'

'And go where?' Harry said.

'I don't know... Some beach. Did Luna ever go to the beach? It was going to be fun to spend a Christmas feeling warm and sunbathing. ’

'Mom, there is a week to go before Christmas, I doubt if we can get any hotels available on this date, especially on the beach.' Harry sighed, drinking his tea. ‘And you, dad, any suggestions?’

‘Maybe we should stay home… Who knows if I dress up as Santa Claus, Luna doesn’t even remember her mother’

'Oh James, this is incredible, but please don't call Susan a mother, it's an affront to all of us.' Lily raised her hand, snorting and rolling her eyes as if she were offended. James laughed softly, staring at Harry.

'But it was she who gave birth.' James said.

'Giving birth and creating are completely different things, Susan never tried to take care of her daughter, I think she never even embraced the girl.’ The two started that same discussion as always, which made Harry divert his attention and face the big picture hanging over the fireplace, a picture of James, Lily, Harry, and Luna - still a baby - in front of that same fireplace. Making him think of the years he spent with Susan.

They always commented about having children, of course, they didn't expect it to happen anytime soon, even before they graduated from college. Harry even thought Susan would try to have an abortion, but she seemed so happy with the news - and scared - that for a few months he thought everything would be fine. He started working and going to college at night, looked for a safe apartment for them to move in together, and accompanied her through all maternity classes.

Susan, who seemed happy at first, did not remain so happy when she needed to stop the course because she was exposed to chemicals that could be harmful to the baby, but Harry convinced her that she could go back to college afterward. Of course, they did not expect Luna suffered so much to be able to suckle, and that they would have to stay up late because the girl had reflux attacks, and she felt a lot of colics.

Harry tried not to blame himself for Susan having given up on her career because Luna demanded too much attention, and afterward, the woman simply thought it was too late. He tried to think that he had insisted that she return, but Harry thought that he might not have insisted too much. Perhaps that created the barrier between Luna and Susan.

Maybe if he had paid attention to the signs, realized that the whole situation overloaded Susan too much, that for weeks they didn't even kiss anymore, that little by little it was like they were just roommates, maybe Harry would have acted earlier. Perhaps he had stopped his college so that Susan could continue hers, and he would have stayed at home taking care of Luna. Who knows, that would have helped. Or maybe he shouldn't have bought that engagement ring, maybe it was there that Susan realized that they would be forever stuck with each other.

There was so much that Harry could have done, that he didn't even think about it anymore.

For him, fatherhood was incredible, even though it was often, often tiring. To see Luna learn every little thing, to see her sleeping, learning to eat, trying to walk ... everything, it was too incredible. And maybe that blinded him to the other problems around him.

Harry didn't even remember when he saw Susan cheating on him - if they had a relationship to make it happen - it had been so many times after the first, but he didn't want to shake things up any further, he started to realize that the perfect world that he had created to live with her, was slowly crumbling. He finished college and started taking Luna to the office with him, happy that Robard didn't care about the little girl around, he thought that if he took the responsibility off Susan a little, everything would be back to normal.

He spent all day alone in the office, writing papers and testimonies, he was lonely most days, but he started to be more fun with his daughter around. She was a calm child, playing with dolls on the floor, almost always too entertained in the film he left on his cell phone to bother him.

Susan had found a job at the bakery near their home, and Harry realized that she was happier now that she had more free time, which made him happy too. He thought it was okay, they would be a happy couple again, the betrayals were just slips of a moment of weakness, Harry could forgive that and move on. But then, even though she seemed more excited, he couldn't help but notice that Susan was rarely at home, even on her days off. She knew almost nothing about Luna, what she was learning now that Harry had enrolled her in a nursery since he had been promoted and the workload had increased (Susan didn't know that either). It was like living with a ghost inside the house.

He never thought that there would come a time when he would ask himself if she no longer wanted to be with him. Harry wondered if that was what was missing; he asks more. Susan said that she had been seeing another guy for some time and that she thought she loved him.

_ 'Do you think so?' Harry asked, hurt. _

_ 'It's a complicated situation, Harry,' she said, at least, looking sad. _

They decided to break up, whatever it was they still had, but as Luna seemed to have felt that things were not right, Harry asked Susan to stay a little longer at home, so that little by little, Luna got used to the idea of separation.

But less than a month later, she was tired of waiting and chose to leave without even saying goodbye to her daughter.

Harry thought it hurt the most to see the girl cry and ask for her mother. His pain was nothing close to Luna's.

'Maybe we should just do a Christmas with several things that she likes. Maybe order pizza and eat ice cream for dessert,’ Harry suggested, smiling at the thought of how happy she would be. 'Maybe she and I would sleep here, so she could finish the dollhouse early, with your gift, which I know is the mini kitchen she asked for.' James smiled guiltily at Lily, who denied and laughed. 'She would like it... Sirius is coming, isn't he?'

'Yes. He and Hestia come right after breakfast. Remus and Tonks will also come at that time..maybe we can ask them to bring Teddy's gifts, and the two can open the gifts together,’ James said.

'Perfect! Luna will be more than happy to have everyone here. I think if we stay at our home it will be worse.' Harry shrugged, thinking about how the girl avoided going into Susan's empty closet. 'I am thinking of moving.'

'Oh, it would be great! It was just time for you to leave that apartment. Not only does it bring sadness to Luna, but it also brings you.' Lily sighed in relief as if she had been holding that opinion for days. ‘Isn’t it time for you to pick her up from school?’

'Today is the last day, right?' James looked hopefully at his son.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so excited to set up a dollhouse.’ Harry joked.

'It has been lonely since your mother started teaching again. I regretted giving myself a month of vacation. ’

'Don't worry,' He hugged his father, and then his mother, letting her hug him tighter and kiss him on the cheek. ‘It’s the last day.’

After saying goodbye and James confirming again that his granddaughter would visit them tomorrow, Harry left his parents' house and drove to Luna's school. It was not far, but it used to be a little difficult to park during the afternoon, especially around Christmas and other holidays, forcing you to stop the car two blocks beforehand and walk to the place. Some mothers smiled at him and waved, just as they had since the first day he took Luna, always looking touched that he did the least for his daughter, but one woman, in particular, caught his attention, standing further ahead, arms crossed and a sweatshirt bigger than her.

'You around here? Are you following me?' Harry asked as he approached, smiling at the redhead who was startled and almost dropped the cell phone from her hand, her brown eyes bulging in her freckled face.

'Oh, hello.' Ginny smiled. 'I came to pick up my niece, my brother needed to resolve a work issue,' She arched an eyebrow, lifting her chin a little. 'And I would never spend my precious time to follow you... Actually, what is your name again?' Harry laughed.

'Harry,' He held out his hand, feeling much happier than at the last hour. Not that it hadn't turned his stomach.

Ginny Weasley shouldn't be the reason for Harry to smile on a cold, gray afternoon, after having spent hours solving other people's problems and looking for a new home.

'Yours?' He asked, and she smiled, even more, causing a shiver to run down his spine.

'Ginny.' They shook hands as if they hadn't seen each other naked last Saturday for hours that Harry thought he would never be able to forget. The memory of her knee in front of him disturbed him almost every night.

'How are you doing?' Harry asked.

'Good, but you would know that if you had texted me.' She didn't look angry or upset at least, an amused smile was on her red lips, almost matching the color of her cheeks.

'I'm sorry, things got complicated this week.' He shrugged, putting his hands in his jacket pocket, feeling the paper with the number on it that he had left there.

Things weren't so complicated, but Harry felt a little too anxious to send a message to her, even to save the number, as if by doing this automatically things would get more serious and he would screw it up again. It had been a fun Saturday night, he hadn't laughed and he had been relaxed like that for years as if for those hours, there was no weight on his shoulders, no guilt, no fear, nothing. It was as if Ginny had a calming effect on him.

'Hm ... I will pretend to believe it.' She tossed her hair behind her shoulders, in a movement that allowed him to see that small tattoo is hidden behind her ear, the same one he kissed when the two were together. 'You know, I don't bite.'

'As I remember... yes, you do.' Harry smiled, also seeing her smile and blush, some mothers seemed to struggle to hear what they both said.

'But as far as I can remember, you liked it,' Ginny said, smiling mischievously, which made him feel completely shivery, and even a little excited, the memory of her moaning in his ear and biting his shoulder as she rode, causing an explosion of feelings inside him.

'I must have forgotten, I was a little drunk.'

'Oh, don't say that,' She pushed at his shoulder, laughing in that way that made her eyes go smaller and her cheeks become even more prominent. 'It makes it look like I took advantage of you.' Unexpectedly, Harry felt an urgency rise in his chest to kiss her, as if it were impossible to continue living without sticking his lips to her.

'Hm, so, how old is your niece?' He urgently needed to change the subject, taking a deep breath, trying to calm that feeling that clutched his chest. And to make matters worse, he could remember the feeling of kissing her, how nice it was to be entwined with her, how Ginny pulled his hair and made him reach heaven.

It was hateful that she kissed so well.

'Seven, like Luna.' And as if that woke him up to where they were, Harry blinked a little stunned, and quietly took a step back, thinking that maybe they were too close to a place like that. Besides, if Luna saw him talking to Ginny so close, she could imagine that it was something else and create hope over something that probably would not go ahead.

Ginny is a beautiful woman, Harry knew he shouldn't be the only guy to notice that, besides, he probably wasn't the only one she could talk to and flirt with. Maybe she knew famous men who were worth a lot more than he was.

'Oh, are they in the same class?' Harry said, trying his hardest not to show how nervous he had been at the mention of his daughter. Cho had said that it was very likely that Luna would look for her maternal figure in other people, and he did not want to hurt her further by making her think that Ginny would be that figure.

'Probably,' She shrugged, looking over his shoulder, towards the gate. 'Here they come.' Harry turned, already looking for his little girl in that sea of running children. He had made two buns in her hair today, with colored rubber bands that she had chosen, so Harry didn't think it would be difficult to identify her.

And it wasn't, but it wasn't the rubber bands that drew attention, but the fact that she was walking slowly behind everyone, with her backpack on her back and her head a little down.

Ginny's niece reached her aunt faster than Luna arrived at Harry, the blonde girl started talking nonstop about the cards they had made in class, and even though no one had told him, he already knew what had happened.

'... I made one for Mommy, Daddy ...' The girl kept talking, which made Harry's heartbreak into a thousand pieces when he realized that Luna seemed to have only three cards on her hand. He already knew that probably one was for him, another for Lily, and another for James, and he couldn't even imagine how he was going to deal with that situation.

'Hi my love,' Harry bent down in front of her, opening his arms to Luna, who hugged him right away. 'Come on, let's go home, daddy bought that cake that you like so much.' He struggled to speak, the lump in his throat growing by the moment.

'Hi Luna,' Ginny leaned over so that the girl could see her, since Harry had picked her up, realizing that she didn't want to walk. He felt it when her daughter lifted her head from his shoulder, and as much as he wanted to protect her as much as possible, Harry figured that maybe that might cheer her up a little.

'Ginny!' Luna seemed to come to life, rising from Harry's tight grip and smiling at her. ‘Daddy, it’s Ginny!’

'I know,' Harry smiled gratefully at the woman.

'I told you that she was my aunt,' The little blonde girl put her hands on her waist in a way that made Harry laugh, her chin lifting in a way that reminded him a lot of Ginny.

'Vic...' Ginny put a hand on the girl's shoulder as if she asked her to calm down. 'How beautiful is your hair, who did it?'

'Daddy,' Luna smiled, even more, running her free hand through her hair, lowering any strands that were out of place. 'He also combed my doll's hair, do you want to see it?' Ginny's eyes flashed towards Harry, who blushed deeply.

'Sure, let me see,' she said.

'Her doll's name is Gin, aunt! Just like you.' Vic said, holding hands with Ginny. 'How's your name?' She asked Harry.

‘Harry, and you?’

'Victoire.' She held out her hand as if she were an adult, Harry didn't even hesitate to greet her.

'Look, she is also a ballerina.' Luna proudly showed the doll with brown hair and skin, wearing a pink outfit that Lily had sewn, with two mini buns.

‘Wow, she’s very beautiful,’ Ginny gently ran her hand over the dress, which made Luna smile even more. 'Like you.'

‘She isn’t like me, her skin is dark, like her hair,’ Luna pointed out as if it were something Ginny hadn’t noticed. 'But thank you very much.'

'Now, say goodbye to her, and let's go, Uncle Remus is going there today. Teddy is missing you.’ Harry said.

‘Ginny can’t go too? Or Vic?’ Luna blinked green eyes at her father, in a failed attempt to convince him.

‘Other day we went out together, all right?’ Ginny intervened before he said no. 'We can skate on the ice.'

'I don't know how to skate.' Luna blushed.

'But I teach you. Vic doesn't know it either, ’ The girl nodded. 'What do you think?' First, she looked at Luna, and then at Harry, smiling at them and making him feel that urge to kiss her again. 'Your father calls me, we decide the day, and go.'

‘Can we go, dad?’ Luna asked.

'We can,' Harry had no choice, and he didn't want to admit that something inside him warmed up to see how Ginny treated his daughter.

'Oh, great.' Ginny smiled even more. 'He has my number.'

  
  


* * *

_ Did you use my daughter to send you a message? - Harry _

'Luna is big,' Remus said, watching her play with Teddy, who was two years older. The boy still had the patience to teach her how to play with his castle, which Harry thought was great. 'And every day more like you.'

'I thought she'll look like Su..she,' Harry said, also watching his daughter, even though he occasionally looked at his cell phone on the table, waiting anxiously for a message from Ginny.

'No, the girl is a copy of you. Maybe she inherited it… no, she’s just like you were at that age, but with Lily’s red hair. ’

'I sincerely thank you.' Harry smiled, thinking that for years he planned to have another child, imagining that this time it would have the same brown color as Susan and her blue eyes. Now it was just something that made him laugh coldly, in addition to feeling that anger that burned in his chest whenever he remembered it.

‘Did you ever talk to her?’ Remus turned, facing Harry, who also sat up in his chair, pouring a little more beer into their glass.

‘No, and it wasn’t for want of trying. But now,’ He shrugged. ‘I hope she never appears again.’

'She is still Luna's mother,' Remus whispered.

'No, she never was. Luna is my daughter, and that's it.' This sounded angrier than Harry would have liked, but the memory of seeing her handing the Christmas card to him, her green eyes shining with tears, she said the other two - as he imagined - was for  _ Nana _ and  _ Popo _ , and that her friends asked where her mother was, it made him even angrier with that woman. She could break him into a thousand pieces, and he wouldn't mind, but seeing his daughter like that was inedible. 'Anyway, I don't want to talk about it with her around.'

'Okay... So, now that you're officially single, are any women insight? You’ve been alone for a few years already, don’t let your mom know I told you, but she was trying to arrange a date for you with one of her students. ’

'Oh, God, make her stop.' Harry laughed. ‘I’m too busy to have another appointment on the agenda.’

'So who are you waiting to call? I realized you never stop looking at your phone.' Remus seemed to hold back his laughter, drinking his beer as if he wanted to hide the fact that Harry was just a guy who didn't know how to lie and disguise it very well, at least not in front of those who saw him grow.

'It's nothing,' he said.

'Why, how can not? You look like an anxious teenager... Is she a lawyer too? Or that woman who greeted you in the hall?’

'Kate? No. I think she's a lesbian.' Harry shrugged, also drinking, but to buy time and know-how to hide about Ginny. His family was too excited about little things. 'Is a friend.'

'Hm, a  _ friend _ ,' Remus smirked, making Harry laugh out loud. 'I was also a friend of Tonks.'

'By the way, what time will she arrive?' Harry asked, looking at the apartment's front door.

'No, no, no excuses and an attempt to change the subject. She is beautiful?'

‘We have nothing, Remus, seriously, we’re just two acquaintances.’

'I know you, boy, you wouldn't be nervous if that were true,' Remus said, staring at him deeply as if trying to read his mind with magic.

'Don't be ridiculous, this is Sirius' role... We left last Saturday... no, we ended up meeting unintentionally, but anyway, it was just one night,' Harry said, shrugging.

'You? One night? I doubt it very much.’

'But this is what we have for now. Luna has already gone through too much trauma for me to add one more, besides, I don't have time.' He stared at Remus, who seemed to be thinking of a way to refute him.

'You made time on Saturday to go out with her,' Remus smiled, raising his eyebrows. ‘And to send a message to her today.’

'A Saturday of many that I spend taking care of Luna.' Harry replied. ‘Seriously, this will not work. She must have another 10 behind her.' And as if waiting for the perfect moment, Harry's cell phone screen flashed on the table, vibrating quickly and warning him that a new message had arrived.

_ It worked, didn't it? - Ginny. _

**ACT IV**

_ Busy? - Ginny _

_ Buying Christmas presents - Harry _

_ I can call you? - Ginny _

They had been talking for a few days, Ginny made him laugh and de-stressed him with absurd ease, it was as if she knew the perfect formula to make him smile.

He found out that she had seven siblings and that she was the only girl, who had been a dancer since a very young age, and that she had traveled internationally for the first time just five years ago. Harry told her about his life too, about his mother teaching him when he was a teenager, about his father being an architect, and how Harry almost joined the hockey team, but how he wore glasses, ended up not passing the tests.

There was not a day when Harry was not eager to talk to her.

He didn't spend more than an hour without thinking about sending something to her; a meme, crazy news, or about some case that had come into his hands.

_ Sure - Harry _

It didn't take long for the name 'Ginny' to be stamped on the screen, and Harry was quick to slide his finger and accept the call, placing the bag of vinyl records he had bought for his dad on the other arm.

'Hi.' He said, a little awkwardly. It was the first time he had heard Ginny's voice over the phone, and it seemed a little too intimate to be done in the middle of the street. It was always as if they were sharing a secret - in parts it was, since every time Luna asked about Ginny, Harry would either divert the subject or make up some excuses. He was not proud of it, but it was the best way to keep his daughter safe from further trauma since she had already started to regress a little about communication as if she realized it would be her first Christmas without her mother.

'Hi.' She replied, also looking embarrassed. ‘Doing the shopping at the last minute?’

'Are you crying?' Harry dodged the crowd, entering a cafe so he could hear her better. The streets were crowded, but he could still make out that Ginny's voice was not as cheerful as he remembered.

'Oh, no, no, I’m... I'm fine.' It still didn't seem true, but he preferred to listen to what she had to say first. ‘Just… just work.’

'Oh, ok.' He nodded, even though she didn't see him. 'I left everything for the last hour, Mr. Crouch traveled and I took all the work.'

'One hour you will be rewarded, I'm sure.' She still didn't look excited, but Harry didn't quite know how to deal with it, so he just kept running away from the subject. Maybe it was just working, as she had said. ‘Luna already made her list?’

'More than a month ago,' he smiled, asking the attendant for coffee. ‘Dolls, a witches castle-’

'-A castle of witches?' Ginny seemed to smile for the first time, which made him smile too.

'Yea. Dragons, toy wands, and small cauldrons come for her to make the potions. ’

'Does this look incredible, is she going to win?' Ginny asked.

'Probably, Sirius was more than excited looking for her. We only have two children in the family, Christmas was more fun with them.’ Harry ruffled his hair, a little anxiously. ‘Are you okay?’ He didn’t control himself, worried that she might have had an accident, or that someone in her family would have fallen ill or even worse, died.

'I... you... are you too busy?' Harry didn't even think when he replied;

'No. What you need?'

'Can you find me? It's for a little while. ' He could answer that he needed to pick up Luna from his parents' house, or that all he would like to do was go home, take off his suit and take a shower, but there was something inside him, that feeling that kept burning whenever he talked to her or about her, something that made him more sentimental than Harry ever thought possible.

‘Sure, where?’

  
  


* * *

‘Sorry to interrupt you-’

'You don't have to apologize, what happened? Are you okay?' Ginny was in his car, there was not that smile he liked so much to look at - and found himself staring even more when he discovered her Instagram - much less that malicious gleam in her brown eyes, just apathy that almost made him feel the pain inside him.

As if it were something natural, Ginny hugged him as she could, hiding her face in his chest and starting to cry like a child, looking so fragile that Harry was even afraid to hug her back.

'Let me take off my seat belt,' he asked, in a whisper, pushing her far enough away that he could be more comfortable. Harry straightened up on the bench and hugged her, remaining silent while Ginny just cried, not caring too much about the wet shirt or the fact that the two were parked in front of a square, almost eight at night.

Harry undid the bun and started stroking his flaming hair, just waiting for the crying to pass, as he did with Luna. He kissed the top of her head, hands running down her back, feeling the softness of the sweatshirt she wore. With his foot, Harry squeezed the lever and pushed the seat further back, being able to pull Ginny onto his lap, both legs to the same side, thinking that perhaps the previous position would make her feel pain in the side of her body.

There was no malice in that position, she was still almost lying on top of him, but now with her head on his shoulder, really looking like a heartbroken baby.

'Do you want to talk about what happened?' Harry said, intoxicated by the floral scent that came from her hair.

'I am a failure.' She sobbed, making his heartbreak. ‘I’ve spent all these years away, to come back, and see that I’m a failure.’

'Of course, you are not a failure.' Harry defended her, hugging her even more tightly. 'Who told you that?'

'Nobody needs to tell me, I just have to see it. See how everyone around me is much better than me, as everyone has a family, a good home,’ She let out another sob. 'While I'm completely alone.' Ginny curled up even more on top of him as if she wanted to be in a fetal position. It was really as if at any moment she could break.

'Gin, you are not alone, and you are not a failure. Look at everything you have achieved. ’

'At what cost?' She finally looked at him, pulling away just so they could look at each other, her eyes so beautiful, they were now red and swollen, her lips trembling between sobs. 'At what-what cost? I'm completely alone, so alone that I don't even recognize myself anymore.' Ginny wiped her eyes, then lay back on his shoulder. 'You are my first friend in what seems like years ..' She continued to sob, almost making Harry start to cry. 'I see my brothers with their children, getting married, being happy, and I just think that when I get back to New York I will be alone.' Ginny squeezed him even more as if she was afraid that he would run away.

'Why don't you stay then? Maybe try another area?’ Harry tried, listening to her cry.

'Which? I'm not good at anything else,' Ginny said, looking exhausted. 'I dedicated my life to it so much, I spent so many days training, killing myself to manage everything, I left home early, I did everything I thought I should, for today... be alone and unhappy. Tomorrow is Christmas and I will be the single aunt of the night.' She pulled away from his shoulder, wiping her eyes. ‘Sorry,’ Ginny had a lovely, heartbreaking pout on her face, which made Harry smile sadly.

'No, no ... I feel that way too, you're not the only one who doesn't know what you're doing,' he said, pulling her back into a hug, this time, hiding his face in the curvature of her neck.

It was hilarious as the two looked like two broken pieces trying to fit together.

No one else said anything for the next few minutes, Ginny's crying stopped, just as Harry's racing heart seemed to not miss a beat, as if with every second she became more relaxed on top of him, the more he became tense with the proximity. Tense and relieved, curiously.

'Do you… do you feel that way too?' She asked, the scented red hairs tucked under his nose.

'I feel,' he admitted, closing his eyes and trying to control his breathing, feeling Ginny adjust herself on his lap, seeming not to notice where she was. 'Am I doing the right thing with Luna? Am I doing it right at work?’

'Of course, you do.' Ginny pressed her lips against the patch of skin over the collar of his shirt, making him shiver.

'Who guarantees me?'

'Well, who can guarantee that I am doing the right thing, staying in New York? Or would it be better to come back?' For a second, Harry thought that if she came back it would mean that maybe they could be friends, maybe there were more moments like this, where she would be inside his car, talking. 'I think we should only trust our intuition,' she said.

'And what does your intuition say?' Harry asked, running his hands through her hair and thinking about how that outfit would smell like Ginny until the end of time.

  
  
  


'That I need to fix my life before I return. Decide whether to go or stay. If I give up ballet or try some more… ' One of her hands went down Harry's chest, as if she didn't even notice the movement, feeling every button and every crease in the fabric. ‘And yours?’

'I don't know ... That I could be a better father.' He sighed.

'We can always be better, but we have to be grateful for what we did today. It was your maximum today, maybe tomorrow you will be different.' Ginny lifted her head, staring at him from the bottom of the eyes with those brown irises, the small hands holding his face as if to prevent Harry from distracting attention. 'I think you are an incredible father, honestly. Luna is a lovely girl. ’

'I could have avoided the drama with Susan.' He smiled without humor, his hands resting on Ginny's hips, holding her in place, worried that if she moved a little more, it would make it embarrassing for both of them.

'You had no way of predicting the future, nor can you change the past.' Ginny blinked, looking a little flustered as he was. 'Perhaps it is time to just let things happen. Luna will get over Susan sometime, and you need to move on. There's no reason to be alone forever.' Harry felt a little more intoxicated, their noses almost touching, Ginny's little pet caressing his cheek. ‘You’ve been alone long enough.’

'This is good for you too... You are not alone now.' Harry tried to keep his eyes open, even though the feeling in his stomach of what looked like a thousand oxen trotting, almost forced him to close them.

'Not.' Ginny arranged herself on his lap, scraping her butt exactly where it looked like Harry most needed attention, closing her eyes for a few seconds before sighing and getting even closer to him.

It was a little terrifying how Ginny messed with him, how she got him to say things so personal that it was so hard for him to get out. It had been more than years since he felt that uncomfortable loneliness, but it always seemed so in the background that Harry didn't even listen, so, as if by magic, she made him admit it, made him expose his most vulnerable part without even asking with all the letters.

Harry felt almost suffocated by the Ginny Weasley effect on him.

One part begged him to just listen to her and live in the now, leave the nightmares behind, stop being alone... Another part was screaming no, begging Harry not to go down the wall that made him safe, that made him keep Luna safe, that made him get up every day and go to face the work that had become so monotonous.

He thought about all the consequences, everything that could go wrong, how he could end up hurt again. Hurt Luna again.

'Harry,' Ginny whispered, her lips almost touching his. 'Just stop thinking.' As if it were what was missing to make him choose a side, Harry closed his eyes, bringing his lips to hers, almost feeling thirsty by the touch.

It felt so good to kiss her, Harry never seemed to get tired, a part of himself reliving the desire that had burned in the back of his mind for the past few days, how they fit together, like now, her hands weren't so eager to pull his hair or scratching his skin, just resting on his cheeks as if now, they had all the time in the world and knew what to do.

Ginny bit his lower lip before Harry remembered where they were, listening to voices approaching the car, waking him up for the present.

'Shit,' he groaned, sinking his fingers into her hips to try to channel the lust. ‘We need to get out of here.’

'It's an invitation? I would prefer a more romantic one, but I can accept this one.' She said, making him feel her naughty smile growing on his skin.

'Luna will be home soon, my parents asked for more time with her,' Harry murmured, sad that Ginny would walk away from him.

'Is this again an invitation, or are you rejecting me? Be clearer, Potter, I suck at riddles.' Ginny smirked, her cheeks flushing, the streetlights that were nearby, lighting her up. Harry barely realized it was so late. Luna would probably go home to get all the toys she wanted to spend Christmas with, knowing that Harry wouldn't be able to guess which doll was which, and which was the best dress. One concerned and systematic side of him said it was a bad idea, the other part said that he wouldn't have much time for the rest of the week, and if Ginny returned to New York before her vacation was over, he would end up blaming himself for the rest of his life for not enjoying it anymore.

'It's an invitation,' he said, taking her off his lap and placing her on the passenger seat, taking a deep breath while fixing up his messy pants and shirt. Ginny didn't even try to hide the laugh. If it were on another occasion he would be embarrassed that he was starting to get hard as if he were a teenager after making out, but after seeing her cry, listening to her laughing like that warmed him inside.

'You haven't finished your shopping,' she commented, looking out the window as they passed the brightly decorated city, several people walking through the streets and stopping at the windows.

'The last gift was my mother's, and I ordered it over the internet, it will only be ready tomorrow morning, probably before we unwrap the others.'

'What did you buy for Luna?' There was something about how Ginny talked about his daughter, the naturalness that she acted in the fact that in his luggage he had a seven-year-old child, that also messed with Harry. The few times he tried to go out with a woman, as soon as they knew he had a child, two doors opened; either they were extremely ecstatic and started praising him as if he just wasn't doing the least, treating him like a superhero, or, they ran away.

That naturalness also scared him a little, at the same time that it relieved him.

'A collection of coloring books that she had asked for, each one is about a dragon and, along with the obsession with dolls, she has been obsessed with that too. What is fun, to say the least, watching her make Barbie dressed as a bride ride in a red and scary dragon,' he said, looking quickly at Ginny, who was looking at him with a smile on her face.

'See how you have been doing your job right. There is no reason to fear when it comes to how you treat Luna,’ Ginny said.

'It is a constant fear. You compare yourself with other parents and realize that you haven't enrolled her in a language course, and you're letting go of that moment where it is so easy to learn things, or that she is not yet as developed as other children, and she doesn't eat as many vegetables as other mothers say their children eat. A few nights ago, we had Chinese food, and I don't think that's healthy, but it was what I could do at that time.' He vented, turning around that corner where that house was for sale, and that he always passed in front of, just to think: what if?

'But the answer is there; You did what you could. And as an aunt, I can tell you, the parents lie, Victoire doesn’t eat as many vegetables as Bill says she does, not even far.’ Ginny said, with her hand on his shoulder. 'You are doing much better than people expect from a first-time parent.'

'Do you deal with parents a lot?' Harry stopped at the traffic lights, taking the opportunity to look at Ginny, who grimaced and nodded.

'Believe me, all of them. Parents think that because their son likes ballet, he is gay. Or that what I do is not a real profession. Some make silly comments about their daughter's weight, reaffirming that she needs to lose weight and eat healthy if she wants to dance like me… There are several of them, which gives me a good opinion of what kind of father you are, and that you doing well at that job,' Ginny said, smiling at him before looking back out the window, seeming to notice all those small, tidy houses that were on the blocks before Harry's building. The last time she was around, the two of them were too busy kissing to make Ginny pay attention to the way.

'And what kind am I?' Harry asked, a little anxious for the answer.

‘Ah, that guy who makes women‘  _ ’awn, he’s so cute' _ ... Like, I almost hugged you that day on stage too, you looked so moved by Luna’s reaction.’

'I wouldn't have complained.' He shrugged parking in front of the apartment. Another thing that made him think of the house ten blocks away, besides the cutest garden, apart from his mother's, which Harry had seen in London, there was a covered garage, which was needed on cold days.

'I realized how you looked at my cleavage.' Ginny blinked, letting him lead the way. Harry wasn't even embarrassed.

'It was a beautiful neckline.' He opened the front door, letting her pass before closing it again, walking beside her to the stairs. It wasn't a fancy building, the elevator was slow, and he lived on the third floor, with no reason to spend time and be angry that that contraption didn't work right. 'Come inside.'

'It's good to be here without being a little drunk, I can see things better.' Harry turned on the lights, again feeling that little anxiety in his chest when he thought about the opinions she would take of him just looking at the apartment.

It wasn't very big, comfortable enough for him and Luna to live in, with the kitchen and living room separated only by an island, several toys scattered everywhere, a blanket on the sofa that Luna loved to cover herself while watching cartoons, and lots of paperwork from him, under the corner of the six-seat table. The windows were large and with bars, there were some pictures on the walls, some pictures scattered, and some drawings pasted on the walls. It was a cozy place, full of memories that Harry wanted to forget, which made him think more and more about that house, which was bigger, and Luna would have a yard to play in, instead of being trapped in that cage.

'Sorry about the mess,' he said.

'Oh, it's okay, it's expected for a house with a child,' She shrugged, walking around the room and looking at Harry's picture frame with makeup on and wearing a pink wig, while Luna smiled next to him. ‘Did you always want to be a father?’

'Eventually. It wasn’t something I planned at 19, but one day, yes.’ Harry opened the fridge, making a mental note that he should go to the market. 'Beer? Juice? Tea?'

‘Beer.’ Ginny was still entertained by the scattered photos. 'How old was she when she started doing ballet?' He knew she had the picture of the little girl wearing one of those pink tutus, in front of Lily's garden.

'Five. It helped her to be less anxious.’ Harry handed her the beer, falling tired on the couch. The clock on the wall pointed out that he was still seven past ten, which meant, at least an hour before Luna arrived and he needed to go to his parents' house.

'Did you and Susan fight for two years?' Ginny moved away from the photos, sitting on the couch next to him, lifting her legs on Harry's lap.

'It is complicated. Divorce, when you have a small child, is not so simple.' He shrugged, not listening to the guilt that always rumbled in his chest when he remembered those days.

'I imagine,' She looked at him, before moving on the couch and placing each leg on one side of his hip, settling there, her brown eyes shining. Harry put her and his beer on the table next to the sofa, smiling at her. 'You should wear a suit more often.' Ginny tugged on his tie slightly, bringing him forward a little. Harry chuckled, letting himself relax on the couch, watching her on top of him.

'It's not as comfortable as it looks,' he said, letting her untie his tie. ‘It’s quite stifling, actually.’

'But it makes you beautiful.' Ginny ran her hand over his shirt, a little wrinkled and marked by her crying. 'I smeared your shirt, if you want, I can have it washed.' Her eyes turned to his. Less red and swollen, but the tip of her nose still revealed that she had cried.

'Don't worry, Luna has already done worse,' Harry said, making them both laugh, Ginny's delicate hands looking eager to undo the buttons and get him out of that piece. He could do it himself, spare her the job, but then there would be no flushed cheeks and no bites on her lips as if she were talking to herself thinking of an excuse to act.

It was small torture that Harry was willing to live.

Her brown eyes turned to him, looking at him the same way they did at the bar, in the car, and now they did, making him a little dizzy before she finally gave up on the shirt and approached him again, but this time, Harry was a little more hungry and he pulled her closer with more haste, grabbing her by the scruff and kissing her willingly.

He was lost, but he wasn't complaining, at least not now.

The two continued to kiss for what seemed like an eternity, when Ginny's knees got tired, Harry laid her on the couch and deepened the kisses, even more, delighting in the softness of her lips, the way she touched him, how she undid him buttons without even looking at them. Apart from Harry's open shirt and Ginny's exploratory hands, nothing much happened, but it was exactly what he wanted, even if he didn't know it.

Kissing on the sofa in the living room, feeling her legs wrapped around his, her warm hands discovering him again, the small, muffled moans, was all he needed.

There wasn’t much malice at that moment, of course, maybe if they continued like this for some time, Harry’s pants would start to get very tight and uncomfortable, but for now, it was just the two of them kissing and enjoying themselves, playing with tongues, teeth, feeling the most delicate points of each one - that point behind her ear, where the tattoo was hidden.

Harry didn't know how long they stayed like that until his cell phone rang, waking him up in real life and almost knocking him off the couch. Ginny laughed sheepishly, like a teenager caught in the act, running her hand through her hair and sitting on the couch while Harry went to the table where he left the phone, ‘‘Dad’’ appearing on the screen.

'Hi.' Harry took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair, trying to look like he wasn't making out with Ginny on the couch.

'Harry! If you're coming, Luna asked you not to forget to bring the green-haired doll.’ James was interrupted by a childish scream, the shower noise echoing in the background. 'And to bring her gray dress.'

'I thought she would want to come here, choose herself,' Harry said. Ginny tripped over one of the toys on the floor, letting out a "fuck" under her breath, then apologizing.

'She wanted to take a shower, she is waiting for you to go to sleep... Hey! ... is it a woman's voice?' He didn't even need to see his father, to know that James was smiling.

'Gray dress and the green-haired doll?' Harry tried to deflect the subject, moving away from Ginny and heading towards Luna's room, really feeling like a teenager caught in the act.

'Don't be in a hurry, we will make Luna sleep.' James still seemed to smile.

'Dad…'

‘Harry, don’t worry, use a condom and have fun!’

‘I’m coming soon, bye.’ Before any response, he hung up the phone, a little embarrassed and thinking that probably James wouldn’t soon forget that.

  
  
  


**ACT V**

'You didn't have to come so quickly,' James said, stopping Harry at the front door, already wearing pajamas and arms crossed, as if he were a teenager caught while running away from home.

'It was too late.' Harry tried to overtake him but the man continued to stop him, following his son sideways and looking at him with a way of knowing that he would have what he wanted. 'Dad, let me say good night to Luna ...'

'Harry, this is the first time in who knows how long I’ve seen you ashamed of being with a woman, I demand, as a father, that you at least tell me that I didn’t disturb anything. Why if I did, and even then, you came running here-’

'-We are friends.' Harry interrupted his father, running a hand through his hair, feeling empty.

And Harry hoped it meant something else, but not that he liked, or anything like that, Ginny Weasley. Now that he was away from her and lucid, he refused to make the same mistake as before.

He would cling to her, make a thousand plans, throw himself headlong into the relationship, then she would betray him with the baker. No, he couldn't risk it.

'We won't have this conversation,' said Harry. 'I'm going to sleep.'

'No, you're going to say good night to Luna, and come down here to help me with the presents, and to talk!' James said, following him up the stairs as if he wanted to make sure that Harry wouldn't run away from him. 'And thank me for not telling your mother, you know how much worse she would be than me.'

'You are reading too many novels,' Harry mumbled over his shoulder, before carefully opening the door to the room where Luna slept, the walls adorned with everything she could choose, flowers, dragons, ballerinas. The toys were stacked in a corner of the room, along with the others, and the lamp was lit on the top of the dresser, causing the ceiling to be painted by stars and planets.

‘Daddy,’ she murmured, hugging the stuffed lion. 'I was waiting for you.'

‘Were you?’ Harry walked over to her small bed, lying down next to her as he could — that is, one leg out, and the other bent. 'Isn't it time for you to go to sleep?'

'But what if Santa Claus comes?' Her eyes blinked more slowly as if she was struggling to stay awake.

'Daddy will make sure he puts your presents under the tree,' Harry whispered, kissing her forehead. 'Now you need to sleep, if not, Santa Claus won't come.'

‘Daddy?’ Luna whispered as well, settling more on the bed, pulling the cover closer to her chin.

'Hm?' Harry continued the affection on her head, removing the strands that stuck to her forehead with sweat, smiling like a fool when he watched her sleeping.

'You smell different,' she said, making his heart stop for a few seconds.

'Sleep, my angel.' It was the last thing he said before she fell asleep, already turning to the wall, turning away from him and looking tired enough not to notice when Harry got up, carefully placing the dolls she had asked for next to the others inside the dollhouse, and leaving the dress inside her closet, ready for her to wear tomorrow.

'Come on, your mom is fixing some jobs, you will help me get the packages down,' James whispered as Harry left the room, startling him. 'Let's go.'

Harry followed, knowing that there was not much to do. The two went down the stairs in silence, walking to the basement that was the only place they knew Luna would never enter, and after pulling all the packages - which never seemed to end - into the living room, Harry went to his car to pick up those who were missing, thinking about what exactly his father would say, and what he would answer.

'Reach me for Luna's.' James pointed to the most colorful packages, sitting under the big tree as he always did, ready to plan perfectly where each package would be.

'You are spoiling her too much,' Harry said, taking the biggest gift, which he imagined was from Sirius, probably the castle she had asked for.

'We only have her and Teddy... At least so far,' James said, raising his eyebrows maliciously.

'Dad.'

'What? Sirius and Hestia are still not that old, besides, you never know if one day they won't wake up and think about adopting a child. Or Remus and Tonks may decide to raise the family. Even Lily and I can- '

‘-Please, it’s Christmas, I don’t want to hear that’ He grimaced, reaching for the gift he had bought for his daughter.

'Or, who knows, you and that girl may have a child... Luna feels very lonely at times.' James suggested.

'Okay, enough, whatever you want to know.' Later, Harry would feel like an idiot for doing exactly what his father wanted.

'Nothing very important, just to know if you like her, if ... if you are happy.' James pulled him to sit next to him, the flashers shining in front of them, reflecting in their glasses. ‘It’s been so long that I don’t see you being young, enjoying life. You are a handsome man, and ok, at the beginning we understood that you were taking a break from relationships, but. It's been almost two years.’

'It wasn't two years ago that Susan left the house.' Harry reminded him.

'But there are two, which we know, that you two are no longer a couple. It's been more than, what, five years that I haven't seen you as embarrassed as you looked on the phone.' James said, laughing softly as Harry dramatically rolled his eyes, feeling his cheeks burn. ‘You don’t need to be alone forever.’

'I'm not alone, I have Luna, you, mom...' Harry said, pulling the presents closer and tidying them up, not wanting to look at his father, afraid that he could see the fear that Harry felt.

'It's not the same, son,' James said. ‘We don’t want you to remember to live only when you’re old, alone, and on your deathbed.’

'So much drama, Mr. James.' Harry grimaced, listening to his father laugh.

'My specialty... Is she the woman that Luna talked about going on the ice with?'

'She said?'

'Yes,' James said, placing what appeared to be Harry's gift, as far away from his son as possible, as if he was afraid he would guess. 'It's her?'

'Yea.'

‘So it’s the woman in the ballet show?’ James looked at Harry, who quickly occupied his hands with the gift his father would give Lily.

‘Yes.’ He didn’t know if he could talk more than that, without blushing or shivering like a teenager, anxiety wanting to take care of him.

'Look at me, son,' James asked, dropping the package that appeared to be for Sirius. Harry looked at him. 'What happened? What _ is _ happening?'

'You were never afraid of being a bad father?' Harry asked, feeling his stomach churn with anxiety.

'Every day.' James smiled with less humor than usual. 'Am I doing it right? Should I or should I not intervene? Is it my fault? There are a lot of questions, and sometimes there are no answers.' He shrugged. 'I need to wait for you to get it wrong or right, to see if I did it right ... I think you teach me more than the other way around.'

'I'm afraid I won't make the right choices.' Harry sighed, looking at the golden wrapping of Luna's gift, thinking about that little girl who was so adorable and who complained when he grew his beard and hair.

'But we do a lot of them,' James said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. ‘You can’t protect Luna from everything, it doesn’t do her any good… Suffering is part of growing up and she needs to learn to deal with it.’

'But I can avoid those in my control,' Harry said, looking at his hands as an embarrassed child would.

‘What if you get hurt in the process? And what do you teach her by doing this? To deprive yourself, to think of others before yourself- ’

'-You who taught me that.' Harry looked at his father, smiling at the man who denied it, laughing embarrassed.

'But it is wrong, son. I know it makes you want to put her under the wing and keep it from falling, but that's just how it, and you, will learn. If you deprive yourself of feeling, living, loving, and crying, she will learn that, and then it will turn into a vicious cycle that will be harmful to both of you, ’James said.

'I... I look at what you and Mom did and I think ...' Harry allowed himself to let the tears wash over his eyes. ‘I think I’m doing everything wrong.’

'Oh, Harry, of course not.' James looked as emotional as his son, pulling him into a hug as if Harry was 7 again and had just fallen off the stairs. 'We did so many things wrong, you have no idea. I say that you did even better than us, doing all the work almost alone, never seems to want to ask for our help... Son, believe me, we are also a bunch of mistakes. And it’s not because your mom and I got married young, that you need to follow the same story.’

'I don't think I ever loved her,' said Harry, hugging his father back. 'I think I also lied to her.'

'You cannot blame yourself for something you could have done. What it’s over, it’s over, ’James said.

'But how do I know that I will not repeat the same mistake? How am I supposed to know it won't be the same?’ He asked, not caring if he looked like a helpless child.

'You won't know,' James replied. 'But people are not the same, Harry, they show us, even without realizing it, that they are different.'

Harry thought about Ginny, how she didn't seem to run away from him, and Luna how she always seemed to try to get a little closer. Inviting the girl to ski on the ice, making him text her, asking about their lives, and looking at the photos with genuine curiosity as if that story was more than interesting.

He thought about how she had opened up to him in the car, how she made him feel things that he didn't even know were possible. He thought about how with Susan it had always seemed just rampant, without much explanation, and how she made him feel alert, ready for any possible fights, unlike Ginny, who made him feel peaceful in a way that his shoulders relaxed and he seemed capable of filling his lungs with air.

‘Yeah, I think you’re right, Dad.’

  
  


* * *

'Did you like your gifts?' Harry asks Luna as he combs her hair. It is almost lunchtime and the table is already set for the loudest meal, Sirius' loud laughter can be heard from above, and Teddy looks even happier with something Tonks has done.

'Yes.' Luna speaks, a little quietly, not looking as excited as before.

'Has something happened?' He asks, curling each curl around his finger with cream, doing it exactly the way Lily had taught it.

'No.' Luna keeps her hands still at her sides, waiting patiently, which is strange because she usually likes to pull some curls forward and play with them, while Harry tries to finish as quickly as possible.

'Sweetheart?' He tries again, making the last coppery red curl, ready to grab the towel and scrunch up her hair, trying to get the excess water and cream that may have remained, in addition to ensuring that the hairstyle lasts a longer time. It is a process that he has been specializing in over the days.

When Luna turns to face his father sitting on her bed, Harry thinks the girl is going to talk about her mother, and he doesn't quite know how he will respond, only that he will try to be genuine and kind. She was quite happy since she woke up, running down the stairs to scream excitedly when she saw the presents and the sock full of candy. She also looked excited when Sirius placed her sitting on the back of his neck and walked around the house, making her laugh.

She looked even happier when James appeared dressed as Santa Claus, claiming to have forgotten a gift from her and Teddy, who made them both (even though the boy didn't seem so sure it wasn't just a fantasy) jump and scream in the middle of the living room. But since the gifts were handed out and she was smeared with jam, Luna looked thoughtful.

'We didn't buy Ginny a present,' she said, causing Harry to be taken by surprise. 'And when we go ice skating, she will realize that she didn't get any gifts, and she will be sad.' Luna shrugged, really looking upset by her father's lapse. Harry sighed, thinking about his conversation with his father last night.

'We can buy one tomorrow, what do you think? And we’ll deliver it to her.’ Harry promised, trying not to think too much about the situation.

'But today is Christmas. Won't she be sad?' The girl's green eyes stared at him as if asking the most important thing of the century, Harry could only smile.

'We can see if there are any stores open, and, _ only _ if there are, we can buy and take them to her later. But only if she can receive us, all right?’ Luna nodded, smiling from ear to ear.

'Do you know what she likes?' She turned around again, letting Harry dry her hair and put the tab with the blue bow and silver strips on top of her head.

'No, but we can choose together,' he said. 'Okay, let's go downstairs, I'm sure Uncle Moony is waiting for you.'

'He said he will help me build the witches' castle!' Luna shouted excitedly, running out of the room, with Harry following her, even if more slowly. ‘We’re going to make the witch walk on the dragon.’ 

'I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.' He laughed, walking into the living room where everyone was, Teddy seemed amused by some story that James and Tonks were telling, and Hestia and Lily were talking on the other couch. 'Uncle Moony, she's all yours.' Harry smiled at the man, who laughed and made a face, leaving the couch to let Luna guide him to the other side of the room, where the castle, the doll's house, the dragons, and the dolls, were kept.

'And how are you, my favorite godson?' Sirius asked, putting his arm over Harry's shoulder, smiling like a dog that got a bone.

'I am the only one,' Harry replied. ‘Or did you sponsor some other boy without me knowing it?’

'No, you are the only one I have pledged to help make mistakes.' Sirius smiled, eyebrows raised maliciously. ‘And, there is this woman who works with me ..’

'Pad, no,' said Harry, wanting to laugh. ‘Last time, she thought my name was Henry.’

'But this time, I promise, she is incredible-' But Sirius cannot finish his speech, Harry's cell phone disturbs their conversation, vibrating and playing at a slightly loud volume for that time of day and the situation.

'One minute,' he asked, leaving the room and going to the kitchen, trying foolishly not to smile when he saw the name Ginny on the screen. 'Hi'

‘Hi… Merry Christmas.’ There was a lot of noise behind her, but her voice was still loud and melodious making him shiver.

'Merry Christmas.' Harry looked at the window, a little nervous. ‘Hey, um, Luna wanted to see you.. she thinks you might be sad that you didn’t get a Christmas present.’

‘Oh… this is cute.’ He imagined her smiling, which made him smile. 'We can meet, of course... if you want, of course, she must be being spoiled today.'

'Everything still normal, she and Teddy just wiped everyone's money, but it's worth watching them smile.' Harry shrugged, even though she didn't see it, sitting on the bench there, the window that showed the backyard was a beautiful sight, with everything white with snow and few rays of sunlight coming out from behind the clouds. 'Where can we meet? And what do you want to win? Any requests?’

'Harry, you don't need that, you can just give me a chocolate and I'll be happy already,' Ginny said.

'No, say a real gift. Anything you want? Flowers? Luna loves to give flowers to others, I think Remus and Tonks may already have a private florist. ’

‘Harry…’

'Ginny ...' He waited, allowing himself to smile at the image of her blushing, as she did when he said she was beautiful. Something inside him burned.

‘Seriously, chocolates are great, and if Luna wants to give me flowers, I’ll accept it,’ she said, further away from the noise. 'I am not able to leave the house, I think my mother will have a heart attack if I say that I am going elsewhere... It is the first time in a few years that we are all together at home.'

'I understand. But we can deliver the gift tomorrow, or next week.’ Harry tried to ignore the tightness in his chest that he felt, it was stupid.

'No, come here... I mean, if you want, without pressure... Vic is here, and there aren't that many children, and maybe she likes to have someone to play dolls in the right way.'

‘Hm…’ Harry pondered. He would, consequently, meet her family, and Luna would also meet them. Wasn't that a very important step? But they had nothing, they were kissing friends, so it didn't matter. Or did it matter?

'If you do not want-'

‘-It’s okay, we’re going.’ Friends went to each other’s houses and knew the family, it was normal, Harry assured himself. 'Give me your address and we'll go later.'

  
  
  


**ACT VI**

'Do you think she'll like it, Daddy?' Lily asked, sitting in the back seat. 'We can say that Santa Claus brought it, she doesn't need to know that we bought it,' she said, innocent as always, making him laugh softly and nod, turning on the dirt road that Ginny indicated.

‘We will keep it a secret,’ he assured, parking in front of house number 9, a two-story house like the next, the walls were made of stones and there was a somewhat messy yard around. Nothing that didn't make it clear that 7 children had already lived there at the same time. 'Shall we go?' Harry looked at his daughter again, checking to see if she was comfortable with that visit.

He knew that later on, he would have to deal with the various questions from his mother, and probably his father since the two of them looked very surprised when Luna said that they were going to visit a ‘great friend of my dad and mine.’

'Yep.' The girl smiled, showing her baby teeth and the hole in the old tooth in front.

Harry got out of the car a little nervous, thinking about how to turn this into a not so embarrassing situation, without her family not thinking that he was in love with her. Not that this was going to be a bad thing, Harry figured that being in love with Ginny Weasley should be one of the best feelings... He didn't know what he was thinking anymore, not when he saw her opening the front door, Luna trying her best to balance the wrap in her arms - which she refused to take help from Harry to carry.

She had her hair in a ponytail, wearing a skirt and thick cold socks, as well as tall boots and a sweater that looked as if it had been hand-sewn, a large golden G on the dark blue thread.

Luna didn't seem so stunned by Ginny’s beauty, deciding to run towards Ginny, who bent down to hug her, whispering something in the girl's ear who seemed to laugh and respond.

'Thank you so much for the gift.' He heard Ginny speak.

'Santa Claus left it at the Popo's house for you, and asked me to deliver it to you,' Luna said, all smiling, making Ginny smile even more and look at Harry, who had reached them. ‘Isn’t it, Daddy?’

'Sure, sweetie,' he assured, winking at Ginny when Luna turned back to her. 'Merry Christmas.'

'Merry Christmas again,' Ginny said, smiling at him, before, more naturally than Harry's heart was able to handle, pick up Luna on her lap. 'Come on, come in. My mom made cookies, and I'm sure she'll love having one more mouth to feed.' She smiled at Luna, who looked even happier.

'No-Ginny, you- Me.' Harry gasped, looking at the walls next to Ginny, as she entered the house more and more, all the family photos and the various voices, paralyzing Harry. For a few seconds, he thought they would just talk at the door, maybe wave to a curious mom and dad at the window, now, enter their house, with Luna on Ginny's lap... Harry felt nervous.

'Come on, Potter, it's getting cold.' She called to him, standing in front of what looked like the entrance to the living room. Taking a deep breath and trying to think that he was doing it for Luna, who seemed very happy to meet new people. Besides, they would stay for a few minutes and leave, of course. 'Don't worry, there are many, but they don't bite,' Ginny whispered to him. 'Hm... Hello.' She swarmed, before speaking louder than all the voices, calling attention to what appeared to be a sea of redheads.

'Oh! Hello, you must be Harry, and you must be Luna.' The only red-haired woman, whom Harry believed to be Ginny's mother, stood up from the armchair by the window, wearing a flowery winter dress. 'I'm Molly.' She smiled, reaching out to greet him, then greet Luna, who now had flushed cheeks, looking at Harry as if she wanted to make sure her father wouldn't run away.

Again, she wasn't a redhead like Luna's or his mother's, she was much more orange and alive.

'I am Arthur.' The older man stood up, also greeting them.

'Bill, Fleur, my sister-in-law, Victoire you already meet, Percy, my other sister-in-law Audrey, Charlie, George, I hope it's my future sister-in-law, Angelina, Fred, my brother-in-law Percy, Ron, Hermione, also my sister-in-law,' Everyone laughed, waving to Harry and Luna, who now looked like two mummies, embarrassed to the last hair. ‘And my parents.’

'Hello.' Harry was the one who managed to speak, wanting very much to take his daughter from Ginny's lap, being able to occupy nervous hands to hold her. And Luna, who seemed to read his mind, held out her arms for him to take, which Harry did without even hesitating. 'I am Harry, and this is my daughter,' He raised his eyebrows at the girl, who had red cheeks in a way that reminded him and Lily a lot.

'Luna,' she said, much lower than she used to, hugging Harry's neck tightly as if she wanted to hide, but was still thinking, pondering the attitude.

'We don't want to get in the way, we just came to bring a gift for Ginny.' Harry said, hugging Luna tighter.

'Oh, you got yourself a prince, Gin.' Fleur said, her accent curled in what looked like a French, tossing her blond hair back, smiling slyly. 'Up to present, huh?'

  
  


'Oh Fleur, don't treat him like that,' The brunette, whom Harry didn't remember was Hermione or Angelina, spoke up, looking at Fleur as if warning her.

'Sit down, please.' Ginny asked, showing the empty sofa, a two-seater. Harry sat a little embarrassed at first, keeping Luna on his lap, even though Victoire seemed very excited to have another child in the house. 'Let's see what you bought ...'

'I chose it,' Luna made it clear, smiling at Ginny, looking a little looser.

'Luna, do you want to play?' Victoire asked, seeming to be enjoying the moment.

'Can I?' Luna whispered to Harry, while one of the twins said something to Ginny, who quickly undid the tie and wrapping.

'Sure.' He smiled, still a little nervous, soon feeling the girl slide out of his lap

'Wow!' Ginny exclaimed, over the conversations that came back in the room, voices rising above each other. 'You didn't have to.' She took the book out, heavy and hardcover, the salmon color further enhanced the ballerina on the cover, wearing a black tutu in a position that Harry no longer remembered the name.

'Let me see,' asked Mrs. Weasley, looking very happy that her daughter was looking at Harry with wide eyes.

'There's more,' Harry smiled sheepishly, looking at the package on Ginny's lap, feeling that all eyes were on him. Harry had already spoken to a judge in front of more than 100 people and was talking about how his client had been attacked and almost stabbed to death, while the defendant looked at him as if he wanted to kill him, and it didn't seem as scary as now.

Not seeming to believe it, Ginny put her hand inside the bag and looked at him with a warning grimace before pulling out a box of alcoholic chocolates, a red velvet bow drawing even more attention.

'You didn't have to.' She reinforced, looking at the two present, and then at him.

'Ginny, don't be so rude! Thank him.' Later Harry would laugh when he remembered how Mrs. Weasley sounded, seeming to speak to a child instead of a 25-year-old woman. But at that moment, Harry just shrugged his shoulders, smiling awkwardly. What could he do? He always struggled to buy gifts for those he liked.

Didn't she like it? Had it been too much? He knew he shouldn't have come.

'Thank you,' Ginny finally said. 'But it is... It's a lot, I would be happy anyway, I didn't need that much.' She smiled, but the smile didn't seem to reach brown eyes, which plagued Harry.

  
  


One of the things Susan liked to shout at him the most was that he liked to snub the money he had, as if it was always better, always making it clear that he was the one with the money.

Harry didn't want to make the mistake again, as much as he didn't remember doing any of that, always thinking it was just one more way to show affection, always seeing his father giving flowers, chocolates, to his mother. Lily never seemed to care, she always smiled and was embarrassed, calling James a fool before hugging her husband and thanking him.

Harry also saw his mother doing this, giving presents to James on important days, such as when his father closed one of the biggest contracts, and Lily gave him a new watch.

It was a way of showing that he cared, that he had listened when she said those were her favorite candies, a show of affection.

Suddenly Harry felt even more nervous, swallowing and thinking about what he could say. Not even when he went to an audience for the first time, did he feel so breathless.

'Hm... I-I thought you would like it.' Harry managed to speak, wanting to disappear as soon as possible. Luna was not in the room, she had followed Victoire to some other room, which made him even more anxious. He would have to come up with a good excuse to be able to pick up his daughter and leave.

'But, I liked it!' Ginny assured him, her hand on his arm, still with all of her huge family watching them, in silence. 'Really! It was very kind of you to buy me gifts.' She smiled. 'I just… didn't expect that much.' Harry nodded, biting his cheek to contain his nervousness.

'Harry, dear, do you accept a cookie? I didn't even ask if you want to drink something..? ' Molly looked at him as if she wanted to relieve the tension that seemed to have taken hold of him.

'N-No, thank you very much, Mrs. Weasley, I just came here to deliver the gift, I... thank you very much.' He smiled at the matriarch, trying to stay calm enough not to look so much, imagining that he was just in front of the judge when he found out that the client lied to him, which unfortunately had already happened a few times. And even in those situations, Harry did well. He was going to make it.

'What's your occupation?' Fred, or George, Harry didn't know, asked.

'I'm a lawyer.' He replied, filling his lungs with air.

'Oh, so is Percy.' Audrey smiled, shaking the other redhead's hand, who was staring at Harry with a not-so-gentle frown.

Harry did not remember him, he had already met many red-haired lawyers, but the one, in particular, was not one he remembered.

'I work with Mr. Crouch.' Percy spoke, wiping his glasses on his shirt.

  
  


'Family Court, right?' Harry remembered having run into Crouch in some courts, he was not a man that he, or Robards, liked to work with, even though the exceptions were rare.

'Yes, a man of respect.' Percy smiled.

'I work on the criminal court,' Harry smiled, still a little embarrassed. 'Robards.'

'He was the one who accused that serial killer, right?' Ron said, looking more curious and excited now, sitting further down on the couch and watching Harry.

'Oh, please, it's Christmas, let's not talk about it.' Mrs. Weasley complained, leaving the room, followed by Fleur who said something about going to see the girls.

'Yes, it was a difficult case ...' Harry smiled more confidently, he mastered that subject, there would be no surprises to make him uncomfortable.

  
  
  


* * *

'Didn't she speak to you anymore?' Neville asked, typing something on the computer before going back to the papers in front of him, looking as desperate as Harry to finish it before Robard came back.

'No.' He threw out another useless role.

'Did you try to go after her to find out what happened?' Neville asked again, something that Harry had already answered - or escaped from answering - earlier.

'No.' Harry ignored yet another call from Elias, as they still didn't have the document in hand or the answer the prosecutor wanted.

'Why?'

'Because she didn't like my gift and it was humiliating enough.' Harry said as if it were obvious.

'Harry, you said that she said she liked it.' Neville dropped the fifth folder on the floor, next to the other four, opening a new one.

'She said that because everyone was looking... but that's okay, it's over, it was nice to be friends with her and go out with her, but it's over, let's go back to real life.' He sighed. 'Besides, Luna rarely asks about her, which is great.'

'She asked yesterday when she got here.' Neville said.

'But not more often,' Harry smiled without humor, typing in the password that appeared there, praying to be the one. Was not. 'I spoke to Susan yesterday.'

  
  


'Yea?' Neville looked at him for a few seconds before returning to work.

'Yes, she is in Spain and does not intend to return, not that I care, but she just wanted to call me to say that she wants nothing of what we bought or acquired while we were together and blah-blah-blah.'

'And what did you do?'

'Everything that reminded me of her is already a long way away, probably in the garbage truck or in a donation center. It reminds me that I need to buy new sheets. ' Harry said, and Neville looked at him again.

'Did you throw the sheets away?'

'Only the ones she made a point of choosing.' Harry spoke, without much emotion. 'Nothing else in that apartment reminds me of her.'

'And are you going to move?'

'I'm going to talk to the owner of the house I told you about, but-' Harry was interrupted by hands that prevented him from taking another document. For a second he thought Daphne was ready to kick them out and force them to solve the problem with the prosecutor, but soon Harry realized that the person had smaller hands than the other attorney, as well as arms full of freckles.

'Can I talk to you?' Ginny asked, looking a little anxious. Harry stared at her for a while before clearing his throat.

'I'm a little-'

'He goes.' Neville intervened, getting up from his desk and going over to Harry's, smiling at Ginny as if asking permission for her, to pick up the papers on the table. The woman withdrew her hands quickly, her cheeks pink. 'I take care of the password and the prosecutor, don't worry.'

Harry sighed and took her to the document room, where almost no one came, for two reasons: it was cold as if it was always snowing inside, and if the boss saw you inside, you would probably get out of there with more work than normal.

‘So?’ Harry spoke apprehensively, hands in his pocket.

'What are you doing?' She asked, with big brown eyes as they watched him, looking a little disturbed. 'One time you seem to want to run away from me, another time you seem to think I'm like Susan, then the next moment you give me a gift more expensive than anything I've ever gotten, in front of my whole family.'

'It was you who said that I could go with Luna to take the gift,' Harry defended himself, feeling his throat dry with nervousness.

'But you said it would be just chocolates, or at most flowers! Not one of the most expensive books on the history of Ballet.' Ginny seemed to want to scream, or at least, speak much more than she was saying.

'I'm sorry, I thought you would like it,' he said, a little more nervous than usual. He knew he was going to screw it up, Harry knew he was just going to make the mistake of looking like a snob, even when he was just trying to be affectionate. 'I can return it if you want.'

'Harry... just... why?' Ginny asked, running her hands through her hair, seeming to finally fill her lungs with air. ‘Why do I feel like we’re just friends at one time, and the next time you seem to want to buy me?’

‘I don’t want to!’ Harry gasped, pulling his hair out as the last outlet for anxiety. 'I just ... I like your company, and you had talked about Ballet, and I thought-I thought the book could help you, maybe you would find the answer, I don't know... I just wanted you to know that I care about you, I-It was a mistake, sorry.'

'You are doing it again! Running away!' Ginny pointed out, her eyebrows rising as her voice sounded louder.

‘What do you want me to do?’ He sighed in defeat. 'I am telling you the truth. I just wanted to give you something meaningful... I'm not running away, by the way, I just. Ginny is not an easy situation.' Harry could almost feel all the demons that haunted him running desperately inside his mind, every second he made his insecurity more clear. Or at least he tried. 'I like being with you,’ I have realized that these are the moments where I laugh the most and have fun, but it is... it is difficult.'

The two were silent, Ginny looked at her boots as if she tried to adjust everything that was going on in her mind, to put it into words.

Harry was already freaking out, trying to think of all the possibilities that could happen from now on, everything she could want to say, and how he would deal with each one. If Ginny returned the book if she kicked his ass if she screamed that he was just a spoiled snob.

‘Do you think I’m like her?’ Her voice was low, almost so low that Harry wasn’t even able to hear it. But he still understood.

'I think everyone can be like her,' Harry admitted, but before he let himself be overwhelmed by the sadness that seemed to hover around Ginny's brown irises, he continued. ‘But not you.’

'What is different about me?' Ginny asked. Harry thought about the years with Susan, the loneliness, the fights, how she always made a point of saying that she left everything because of Luna. That she hadn't been able to continue the course of her life, but that Harry did. That he was a snob and all the other things she threw at him.

'You are not mean, and I like to spend my time with you. Even though I always try to ignore it,' Harry said, looking shamefully at her, then looking at the box of boxes next to them. 'Sorry if I made you think I was looking to buy you. It was not the intention.' He guaranteed, again, just to be sure.

There were more reasons than differentiated Ginny from Susan, but Harry was too nervous to come up with anything better.

The thought of losing Ginny's friendship - it had been so long since he had a friend out of work, someone who didn't seem to talk to him just because Harry seemed too lonely - haunted him more than Harry thought he was capable of.

'It was very kind of you to remember that those were my favorite chocolates,' she said.

'Anyone could have remembered it.' Harry shrugged, embarrassed, looking at her.

'But it was  _ you _ who remembered. The first person who remembered it.' Ginny smiled, taking a step forward. 'Nobody ever did these things for me, I'm sorry if I freaked out.' This time she was the one who looked at the boxes separated in alphabetical order. ‘I… I didn’t think you would remember.’

'About chocolate?' Harry asked, watching her bite her lip and shrug.

'I think the book too. No one has ever given me any ballet-related gifts, except once my brothers got together and bought me a new tutu.' Ginny smiled, looking back at him. ‘I think we both need to learn to deal with displays of affection?’

Harry smiled too, nodding sheepishly and scratching the back of his neck, feeling warm in that cold chamber. 'I like you.'

‘Oh… like… _ like _ ? Or like it as a friend?' Ginny took another step, looking at him curiously, which made him even hotter and breathless, close to having a nervous breakdown, feeling like a teenager again. There was something about that woman that made him stupid.

'Like... like,' he admitted for the first time out loud. 'But if you don't-' Harry was unable to finish since Ginny came even closer and kissed him, hands on his cheeks, seeming to return the air to his lungs, and taking the tension that surrounded him like an atomic bomb about to explode.

'Great, because I like you too,' she said, which made his chest grow as he hugged her and brought her closer, afraid that everything was just a dream. 'We don't have to tell Luna right now,' Ginny murmured in the middle of their kiss, Harry leaning against the copier's table and her between his legs.’ I'm staying, I decided on this yesterday... I don't think I can leave again, not when... When you're not there. When I'm alone and miserable.’

'What are you going to do?' He asked, a little worried, still holding her close.

'I have some contacts, and I thought about opening my dance academy, you know? Helping other girls and boys. ' Ginny smiled, her eyes sparkling. 'When you talked about ballet helping Luna with anxiety... that's what I should do, there are many out there who need support, and I can offer that with ballet.'

'This is amazing!' Harry smiled, feeling happy and calm, even though his heart was still beating very fast. 'We will make things work.' He assured her, holding her face and smiling at Ginny. 'Together.’

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, if you like it, leave a comment :)  
> follow me on tumblr; @sweeethinny <3


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